Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 12/13

opr wrote: »

In fairness he played great stuff for Blackpool in a similar system on the wings. At least he will attack the box when the ball is on the other side and has a goal in him.

Lucas on that team sheet makes the heart soar. It looks instantly like the team just fits better all over the pitch with loads more options for the manger. Hopefully we get to see the real Joe Allen now.

Opr

Jayob10 wrote: »

People harping back to Hodgson's time, Kenny's time, comparing points with last year etc....

Take a look at our current personnel.

Last season had to be judged at a higher standard, we had shelled out large sums (regardless of whether this money was recouped from sales in the overall scheme of things) on players who were going to move us up the table. They didn't, the vast majority were critically bad players.

We had a horrendous season on the back of spending alot of money. I don't care whether it was money we recouped on sales, the bottom line is we spend a shocking amount of money on duds.

Our new manager inherited this squad, with alot of expensive flops not fit to wear a red shirt. He was never going to be backed with the same money Kenny had (I wish he had been able to spend 35million on a striker, 20 on a left winger and another 16 on a midfielder).

The goalposts have changed. Its not really a matter of interpretation either, these (Carroll, Downing, Henderson) are bad players and cost a small fortune for a club who are not flush with cash.

They have been replaced by talented kids who are going to have patchy form by their nature.

We need to stop acting like we have this world class squad of players. We don't. We have 2 players who can claim to be in that bracket in my opinion and thats Luis Suarez and Glen Johnson on occasion.

Thats not "accepting 2nd best" and its not an attitude of a fan that "is the reason the club has fallen of its perch", its reality of today. And it hurts like f*ck. But thats where we are.

We bullsh*t on this thread about Shelvey, Sahin, Agger, Skrtel et al like we have this world class set up, but we really don't. We have some very good players but not vastly of a level that will set us apart from the Everton's, Newcastles, Tottenham's of this world.

Comparing Rodgers and Hodgson is complete folly. Hodgons tried to dampen expectations, he signed some god awful players (Konchesky, Poulsen) and expected guys like this to be part of liverpool's future, whilst being cavalier about some of our better players futures.

Rodgers has immediately identified the sh*te we had in our squad and its a cleaning up job. Spearing, Carroll and Adam are out the door, players 99% of Liverpool fans, hell football fans, could tell you were not up to it. He has made a concerted effort to hold onto players we deem to be key and he has blooded some of our most talented kids. For many games this season we have seen Wisdom (19), Suso (18), Sterling (17), Shelvey (20) playing in the same XI in the league. Its pretty mad when you think about it.

Add in players like Allen, Borini, Henderson and its a crazily young side, and anyone who knows anything about football will know there are always going to be inconsistencies with a team so young. Many are not even the best prospects in their positions.

He has well and trully trimmed the fat and blooded hungry talented players in their place.

People also whinge that clearing the wage bill is nothing to be celebrating about. Its vital we do this. For too long, Liverpool (without ever being champions of England for nearing the last 23 years) have paid top dollar to some outrageous inadequate players. Players who are not deemed good enough to play week in week out.

This issue will no doubt raise its ugly head in the next month with Sterling for instance. We rightly wish to pay the kid a moderate wage to keep him hungry but the managers hands are tied on this. Stewart Downing is warming the bench on 60k per week so how can the manager tell Sterling he is worth less than half that figure?? The allocation of hefty wages for sh*te players is a huge problem.

All of the culture needs fixing, before this club can fully heal. Especially for a club and I always emphasise this, which DOESN'T HAVE BAGS OF MONEY. When we spend big we have to make it count. This has been our downfall for many years.

The work being done right now is hugely encouraging, and thats work in the background side.

As for the style of football, I wrote a post before detailing the way I think the system is working now and how it should work when everyone is on the same page. To say highly paid pro's should pick it up in 20 games is a stretch. Its a completely different system and it takes intelligent players to know when to drop between the lines. Its not something you drill into players (like pressing and running the channels). It's a philosophy that requires alot of creative thinking by the midfield and attacking players especially and it takes a hell of alot of time. The upside is that when it starts to click, things get better and get better rapidly. Attack is used as a form of defence. We are pourous at the back because we have no players barring Sterling, Suarez and Suso who are confident in possession and safe with it in the attacking third. And 2 of the 3 are kids. Teams hit us on the break due to this breakdown.

My main criticism of him is his use of this system so soon when he clearly has not got the players to do so. His midfield has not got the engine to deal with loss of possession in key areas and the inevitable attacks.

Our "passing for the sake of it" looks just like that right now, teams let us have it, confident that we cannot hurt them and wait for their chance to break.

Our defence are learning to play without the protective shield they have had for years.

With the right personnel this is an extremely exciting system, and this is why Rodgers deserves a transfer window to get players who he deems fit to play this system. As I mentioned earlier, how we dream he could spend the Carroll, Downing and Henderson money on players who fit in with what he is trying to do.

I am by no means saying Rodgers is the next Mourinho or Guardiola. He most certainly has it all to prove. And he may fail, but to say he needs to be sacked now is f*cking ridiculous.

K-9 wrote: »

Well Roders has lost Kuyt, Maxi and Bellamy, also Adam and Spearing and brought in 3 signings for respectable money, got rid of Aquilani who was a drain on wages and lost our replacement for Torres, Carroll. He's lost experience and had to bring in youth.

Dalglish lost Torres, Meireles, Babel and dross like Dossena, Jova, Konchesky and Cole and bought in Carroll, Suarez, Adam, Henderson, Enrique, Bellamy, Coates and Downing, oh and Doni.

It's possible that 5 of those signings will be gone by January and it is hardly as if any of them got poached or improved in the second half of last season or the start of this. Torres is obviously the big loss but the rest should have been replaceable.

missingtime wrote: »

When Benitez played Gerrard on the right wing, where he had his most successful season as an individual player, there was constant talk from Gerrard and his buddies in the press about him not playing in his favoured position.

While I myself don't give too ****s about was the press think or say, once we are successful I'm happy, it added pressure on Benitez and detracted from the good work that both Benitez and Gerrard were doing.

Rodgers, I think, doesn't need that attention or, for want of a better word, hassle as he is only just in the door. There are plenty of managers who have fallen on their sword for trying to change too much too quickly.

billybudd wrote: »

It was a joke, thus no point.

Leiva wrote: »

If the Queen had balls she would be the King.

Liverpool could still finish season in top four, says Brendan Rodgers

• Manager plans to be as busy as possible in transfer window
• Lucas Leiva back in squad for first time since August injury

Brendan Rodgers has claimed Champions League qualification remains a legitimate target despite Liverpool having won only three Premier League games this season.

Rodgers's side host Southampton on Saturday closer to the relegation zone than the top four, with four points separating them from Nigel Adkins's third-bottom team and a 10-point gap from fourth-placed West Bromwich Albion. Yet with no side pulling clear in fourth, and Rodgers confident of adding to his forward line in January, the Liverpool manager believes a top-four finish is not impossible should the team recover ground before the transfer window opens.

The Northern Irishman, who saw an eight-match unbeaten run end at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, said: "It is realistic, absolutely. Teams are taking points off each other. Let's be honest, it is a big ask, a massive ask, but that has to be our target. We are going to look to try and get as close to that as we possibly can."

The Liverpool manager also claimed to be unconcerned at a return of only 16 points from 14 Premier League games and the team's proximity to the relegation zone. "I wouldn't want to think about us like that," he said. "The table is very tight and we have had a run of games where we didn't quite have the wins we wanted but we played well. Now we have to show the winning mentality. Over the course of the next month there is an opportunity to gets wins on the board.

"I am only looking upwards. In August I was thinking we just had to hang on with the group we have got and try to develop the young players. The senior players have been brilliant, too. The way Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger controlled Jermaine Defoe on Wednesday, and Defoe is one of the best strikers around at the minute, was brilliant. These guys are working well and working hard. I have an inherent belief in the group and that will continue to grow. If I didn't have that, I would be concerned. I would tell you."

The Liverpool manager, who has Lucas Leiva back in the squad for the first time since he tore a thigh muscle in August, is adamant the team's confidence will not be undermined by the lack of victories.

He explained: "If you look at the players they are giving everything. They are not walking or strolling about. They are giving their maximum. We went into the changing room after Wednesday's game and wondered how we lost it. My job is to keep that confidence, belief in the group because eventually it will change, whether it is through one or two additions or whether one or two find some form and get some goals.

"I've always been very optimistic in my life. There's no doubt we need to get results, I know that as well as anyone. I have got a vision of where I want us to go and I believe we are on track. Things have gone against us and it does exasperate you. You think to yourself: 'What have we got to do to get a penalty or get a bit of luck?'But I don't see us anywhere near that point. I see a group that is motivated and very committed to the cause, working very hard to get those results. That is all you can do. If you have got that as your core, then you have got a chance. Then it comes down to quality."

Rodgers admits that any reinforcements in January – and the manager has ruled out a move for Aston Villa's Darren Bent – must arrive early in the window. "I think we will be able to do business at the beginning. That was our strategy coming out of August: to get that support at the beginning of the month and then improve it. That would be the idea. If we could do that, it would be a big boost for us," he said. Asked how much business he wishes to conduct in January, Rodgers added: "As much as I can do really."